Now, as the most promising genius of the Third Bureau and Eleventh Bureau—and possibly even a reserve member of the First Bureau—Shi Jin really might not be lacking in anything.

Yet Icefield City couldn't afford to show no gesture at all. After all, it was rare for Icefield City to produce a super genius. Even if Shi Jue were to develop and settle in Icefield City in the future, they still had to leave Shi Jin with a sufficiently good impression.

"Go on," said Shi Jin, never one to refuse a gift, and he skipped the pleasantries. In situations like this, it was usually the other party who'd feel uneasy if he simply turned it down flat.

"Actually, the main thing is a single resource. As for the honors, the prize money and whatnot, I won't go into detail." Feng Ying smiled. "Do you remember the Evolution Sacred Spring I took you to back then? Mm." Shi Jin nodded.

"The guardian there, the Life Ancient Tree Monarch, is a rather special individual. Generally speaking, the Life Ancient Tree species has only one super-tier skill: Life's Bounty." Shi Jin nodded again.

"But our Icefield City's guardian monarch, the Life Ancient Tree, through certain fortuitous encounters, also possesses an additional super-tier skill—Plant Mastery! This actually stems from a wood-type tier-eight resource, the Seed of Nature. The Seed of Nature is a very special resource; it also belongs to the enhancement category, capable of boosting the affinity for the natural power of vegetation and nature in plant-type lifeforms that absorb its power. The Life Ancient Tree Monarch awakened Plant Mastery as an extra skill precisely because it absorbed the Seed of Nature, and at the same time its own strength grew far more formidable than that of other pet beasts of the same kind—and coupled with its long guardianship of the Evolution Sacred Spring, its combat strength should rank among the strong even at the monarch level. The Seed of Nature is actually a renewable resource: simply place it somewhere rich in natural power, leave it for a few decades or a century, and it will radiate energy once more... So this resource has been kept in Icefield City all along. Though it hasn't yet recovered to tier-eight quality, its advantage lies in being renewable! Simply put, the city has decided to award this Seed of Nature to you as a prize. It's a quasi-tier-eight resource, almost guaranteed to let a plant-type lifeform with decent innate potential awaken the super-tier skill Plant Mastery, and to strengthen its comprehension of natural power. This is about the most presentable resource Icefield City has to offer—I hope you won't disdain it. As for those legendary resources, Icefield City certainly doesn't have any." Feng Ying laughed.

Shi Jin was slightly taken aback, inwardly crying out, Good heavens. The very first super-tier skill I copied was Plant Mastery, and to this day I still can't teach it—I've been worried sick, and here comes an assist?

Though Shi Jin very much wanted to say he didn't need it, that these were all things he ought to do, but... a tier-eight resource, a tier-eight resource—they were giving far too much!

"You're too kind, too kind. Icefield City will always be my home—and Pingcheng too." ... Before long, Feng Ying delivered the Seed of Nature.

By then, Shi Jin and the others had just finished their training as well. Shi Jin had only just maxed out the Clone skill for Shi Yi, Ginseng Baby, and Crimson Eye to the Masterwork tier.

The Seed of Nature had arrived at just the right time; it could be used for Ginseng Baby's next stage of training.

"Eek, eek! (Shi Jin, Shi Jin, this is... could this be...)" Inside the relic space, Ginseng Baby stared wide-eyed with its emerald-green eyes, gazing longingly at the green seed in Shi Jin's hand.

Drool, involuntarily, trickled out.

"Eek! (The Seed of Nature!)" Ginseng Baby's eyes lit up. Having studied the breeding specialization, it knew no small number of high-tier resources, and identified at a glance what was in Shi Jin's hand.

"That's right." Shi Jin smiled faintly, tossing the seed in his hand. "Want it? Eek!!!" Ginseng Baby drooled and nodded frantically, and Shi Jin couldn't help but cry out that even you have come to this day.

"Then it's yours. But once you've learned Plant Mastery, I reckon making nutrients, Time-Brewed Fruits and the like will be much easier. For this trip to Floating Light City, you'd better grind hard. If quality grade won't do, we'll make up for it with quantity." With that, Shi Jin tossed the Seed of Nature to Ginseng Baby. Hearing Shi Jin's words, Ginseng Baby's body stiffened, but it still happily accepted the Seed of Nature.

It nodded heavily, its face alight with delight, green natural light blooming from both hands as it held the seed aloft in midair.

"Eek... eek... eek... eek...!" Holding the Seed of Nature, Ginseng Baby cried out excitedly and immediately began trying to absorb its power on the spot.

Buzz! The next moment, natural power burst forth. In an instant, green light wreathed Ginseng Baby's whole body, and a vast vitality erupted from it in a flash.

Its aura flowed outward and swiftly rewrote the environment of the place. Shi Jin and the others were currently in a very ordinary stretch of barren land, with no plants at all—but in that instant, endless vitality poured forth from within the soil.

In almost no time at all, as far as the eye could see, the ground turned a verdant green; tender green grass spread outward, covering every inch of soil within sight.

A single seed, combined with Ginseng Baby's own power, held vegetation and natural energy to rival a thriving forest!

Another moment later—rumble, rumble—the ground split, and beneath the wreathing green light, trees rapidly sprouted from the earth, as if uprooted and planted all at once, forming a forest in an instant.

Countless dazzling green fruits burst forth from the trees; one vivid blossom after another bloomed, wafting fragrance; one Ginseng Baby clone after another detached from the trunks and revealed itself... [Skill]: Plant Mastery. [Skill Tier]: Super-tier. [Description]: A wood-type skill, granting absolute dominion over natural plants. It can manipulate plants, control their growth, and enhance their quality; the wielder is itself the sovereign of plants.

Without any surprise, because Ginseng Baby possessed enormous life force and basic moves like the masterwork-tier Lush Growth, the instant it touched the Seed of Nature, it awakened and mastered Plant Mastery!

Be it nutrients, energy fruits, Time-Brewed Fruits, fragrance, or clones—at this moment, all of them could be born, relying on Plant Mastery, within the dense sea of trees it had conjured in an instant!

"Gwah-eek! (How marvelous!)" At this moment, Ginseng Baby was immersed in natural power, excited beyond measure. As expected of it... and then.

The astonishing upheaval of natural power naturally drew the attention of Shi Yi, Bug Bug, and little Crimson Eye, who were training elsewhere.

Before long, they rushed over at top speed, and then caught sight of Ginseng Baby amid the sea of trees, like a god of nature—and instantly fell into contemplation.

"Chirp? Mm? Mew?" Shi Yi, Bug Bug, and Crimson Eye quickly looked toward Shi Jin, suspecting that Shi Jin had been giving Ginseng Baby special tutoring.

Otherwise, how had Ginseng Baby suddenly gotten stronger again? It had only just been absurdly strengthened through evolution, and now this—it was simply outrageous.

"Ah, this." Shi Jin wore an innocent expression. It wasn't his fault—purely that Icefield City hadn't sent them any resources.

This blame had to fall on Icefield City. Meanwhile, standing amid the sea of trees and commanding countless plants, Ginseng Baby opened its eyes.

"Eek... (Oh no, my energy value's too high, I feel like I can barely suppress the primal power inside me.)" In plain words, it could barely hold back the force of a breakthrough.